Gone Qadri, Gone!

Islamabad, Oct. 22

He had vowed to stay put until the resignations of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and his brother, Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif. But, on Oct. 21, PAT’s Dr. Tahir-ul-Qadri announced an end to his Islamabad sit-in, claim-ing it had “achieved its purpose, it has awakened the nation and played its role in the path of revolution.” Qadri will now hold two-day sit-ins in different cities—and travel to Canada, whose nationality he holds, for “medical checkups and fundraising.” Qadri’s cadres had been camping out in the capital since Aug. 14, a constant presence compensating for the daily ebb and nightly flow of ally PTI’s simultaneous sit-in there. For all practical purposes, Qadri appears to have called off the antigovernment movement he hoped would launch him as a Khomeini. This is the whimpered end many had predicted. Let’s see how long PTI’s stamina lasts.